For a remarkable 18th consecutive year, the Savannah Country Day cross country team led by head coach Lamar Kirkley and assistant coach Glenn Gibney won a region crown.

The Hornets boys varsity finished as the 2011 Region 3-A runner-up.

By virtue of their top-four finishes, both teams advanced to the GHSA state meet Nov. 5in Carrollton. Facing the best high school runners from the state in the Class A division, the Hornets had terrific results with several runners achieving their personal-best times. This outcame came despite the difficult 5K (3.1-mile) course, which, according to team spokesperson Jeanne Glover, is known for its challenging hills.

Despite cool and windy conditions, the Hornets finished 11th out of 30 girls teams in Class A, which had a field of 200 runners. The SCD girls also had the best placement among all of the Savannah-area cross country teams competing at the state championships, from Class A to Class AAAAA, Glover added.

The Hornets’ boys squad finished 18th out of 35 teams in Class A, which fielded 238 runners. The Hornets, with 554 points, finished one spot ahead of 19th-place Savannah Christian (580), which was this year’s Region 3-A champion.

Finishing off an 8-0 season, the West Chatham Wildcats recently blanked rival Bartlett, 18-0, at Daffin Park’s Optimist Field to capture the Savannah-Chatham County Public School postseason football championship.

The team, coached by Mark Smith, Jerome Lee, Brandon Fryer, Christian James and Jerome Smiley, kicked off its 2011 season with a 22-6 win over Southwest, then disposed of rival Godley Station, 37-0.

Heading into Week 3 with a 2-0 record, the Wildcats faced a tough Mercer team at Scott Field in Garden City. At halftime, the score was tied at 7 — the only time West Chatham was be tied the entire season, coach Smith said. In the second half, the Wildcats were able to control the ball well enough and eek out a hard-fought 13-7 victory and raise their record to 3-0 to clinch first place in their division.

Following that win, the Wildcats toppled Oglethorpe, 27-7, then bested rival Hubert, 15-0, in Week 5.

Heading into the playoffs with a 5-0 record, the Wildcats had to face foe Hubert once again. While it’s tough to beat the same opponent two games in a row, Smith said the Wildcats’ physical play led them to a convincing 23-0 win to set up a showdown with the Myers Gators, the No. 2 seed from the other division.

Two years ago, Myers defeated West Chatham, 40-0, in the second round of the playoffs while on its way to two consecutive championship-game appearances. In a hard-hitting and hard-fought contest, the Wildcats’ defense came up big and keyed West Chatham to the 14-6 win and the right to play rival Bartlett for the county championship.

The Nov. 17 championship game came down to a battle between each team’s strongest units. Bartlett’s offense had scored 77 points in the first two rounds of postseason play. West Chatham’s starting defense had only yielded one touchdown all year.

An explosive offense by the Wildcats scoring three unanswered touchdowns, and the stellar play by the team’s stout ‘D’ was certainly what led the Wildcats to the prestigious county championship.

The Young Guns from the A Division and Dem Boyz from the B Division were recently crowned champions during postseason tournament play for the 4-on-4 adult Savannah flag football league. The annual league — in its fourth season, according to director Jimbo Hannah — has three divisions: A, B and coed.

“We also have a winter season for A Division teams only,” Hannah said. “This past season, we had 23 teams between the three divisions. We keep track of all the team stats, and they are also posted online and on our website, www.savannahflag.com.

“We also keep an all-star list of stats in five categories and give out weekly MVP awards for each division,” Hannah continued.